


Tell Yourself That it's Just Business

by riptripper



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:14:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25018363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riptripper/pseuds/riptripper
Summary: Tenzin decides Korra needs to perfect bending sub-skills. Korra doesn't like it but no other metalbending master can train her except Kuvira. Some slow burn, explicit scenes. The story takes place about two years after the end of the TV show.
Relationships: Korra & Kuvira (Avatar)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 33





	1. Polar Opposites

**Author's Note:**

> i know this chapter is kinda short, but they get longer!

Korra takes in a breath of air, holds it for a moment, then slowly exhales. 

Tenzin has been insisting for her to meditate, or at least try to, every day. 

She sits on the shore of Air Temple Island, listening to the waves crash as ocean water creeps up inches in front of her crossed legs, then retracts back to form a new wave. The events of the past two years have given her some mental and emotional turmoil, and she is finally starting to make peace with her past battles. She still wakes up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat on occasion, but those nights are gradually becoming less intense. Meditating on these issues has definitely helped her, but she won’t admit it to Tenzin just yet. Tenzin likes to be correct too much.

Korra can hear the sound of quiet footsteps behind her growing closer. She already knows it’s Tenzin. She lightly opens one eye, peering at the foot that has stopped right next to her. He sits down next to her on the sand, and now Korra opens both eyes to look at him. 

“Korra, I know you don’t like it, but as the Avatar you have to hone all your bending abilities..including all the sub-skills.” Tenzin states carefully, he knows this conversation could very well end in an argument again. 

“Find me a different teacher then. I’m happy training with Bolin for lava bending and Mako has already shown me a lot of things with lightning, but I don’t want to work with her.”

“I’d be happy to get you someone different to sharpen your skills in metalbending, but you know all the other viable teachers can’t do it. Chief Beifong constantly has her schedule taken up with police work, Suyin is working with Baatar Sr. to redesign Zaofu’s metal domes, and Toph Beifong hasn’t been seen for months.”

Korra lets out a sigh, she knows she will have to give in to Tenzin’s request eventually. 

“She’s just hard to work with, she’s so stubborn and immovable, and I honestly think she despises me. She won’t even call me by my name, she always just refers to me as Avatar. Does that sound like a good teacher to you?” 

Korra knows that Tenzin knows what’s best and she shouldn’t argue with him, but she can’t help herself. Kuvira just has a personality that Korra can’t quite figure out. It frustrates her to no end, usually it’s easy for Korra to figure people out. 

“I agree with you that Kuvira can be unnecessarily bitter, but that doesn’t make her a bad teacher. In fact, I think it would be a good experience for you to train with someone you don’t already like for a change.” Tenzin puts emphasis on the last part of the sentence, because Korra tends to goof off a lot when training with Mako or Bolin.

“Fine. But good luck getting her to agree to this. She doesn’t like me AND she is going to be much harder to convince.” 

Tenzin stands up and offers Korra his hand. Korra takes it and stands up beside him. They start taking steps back towards the temple. 

“I’m not worried about convincing Kuvira. Lin and I have that covered. We are meeting her in a town just outside Republic City tomorrow and I’m sure she will listen to reason.” 

Korra softly chuckles at the ridiculous idea of Kuvira listening to reason. She remembers before she met Kuvira she used to believe the same thing. 

\------------------

Miles away, Kuvira plays with a small piece of meteorite. She bends it into a pyramid shape, then a sphere, then a star shape. 

Kuvira stands on the top of a rock formation just outside a small Earth Kingdom town. A beautiful scene composed of desert and sunset is right in front of her, yet she doesn’t take her eyes away from the slate gray colored rock hovering an inch above her hand. 

This small meteorite is the only piece of Zaofu she has left. After her attempt to create an empire, the people of Zaofu lost all their trust in her. She can’t go back, not after everything that’s happened. 

She winces at her first memory of Zaofu, it almost brings her physical pain. Just a young girl, she was taken to the metal city by her dad. Her parents had decided Kuvira was too much of a handful to bother with, so they just gave her away to the Beifongs. She never saw her mother or father after that day.

Kuvira snaps back to reality and looks up at the sunset with watery eyes. She doesn’t even blink, the tears threaten to spill over and she’d like to keep her composure. Even if she’s alone. Kuvira clenches the small rock in her hand. She wishes that, just for once, something she loved would stay in her life. 

She places the meteorite into a side pocket of the canvas backpack she’s been carrying around, which contains some clothes, money, and various little tokens from her past. She’s been traveling across the outskirts of the Earth Kingdom, trying to heal from the events of the last two years. 

Slinging one strap of the backpack over her shoulder, she sets off to find somewhere to stay the night in the small town nearby. Kuvira has an “important meeting” tomorrow with Chief Lin Beifong and Tenzin of Air Temple island. She doesn’t know what for, but she’ll humor them. 

All she’s got on her schedule is wandering the Earth Kingdom aimlessly, anyways. Not that she couldn’t have anything on her schedule though, there are tons of opportunities for someone who happens to be an expert metalbender. Kuvira just needed time away from everyone.


	2. Flying Bison Aren't Discreet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin and Lin catch up to Kuvira.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I did a good job writing Lin lol

Tenzin waits patiently outside the Republic City police station as Lin pulls up to the curb in her Sato mobile, decked out in police emblems and markings. 

Tenzin gets into the passenger seat and closes the door, Lin stares ahead with her standard grumpy expression on her face. 

“Remind me again why we couldn’t just take a sky bison..” Lin states flatly.

“We need to stand out less...a lot of people still hate Kuvira and we don’t need to draw attention to Korra’s possible new teacher.” Tenzin replies matter-of-factly. 

“So a police Sato mobile, in a town that doesn’t even have electricity, is discreet enough for you?” Lin asks sarcastically, pointing out the flaw in Tenzin’s logic. 

“It is a lot better than a giant, flying bison”

“Oh i’m sure” 

———————

An hour later, Lin and Tenzin arrive at the town that Kuvira is supposedly staying at. They aren’t sure if she’s still here, they had asked for a meeting several days ago and Kuvira didn’t respond. For the sake of the Avatar, Tenzin still has to try to find her. He just hopes she is still in town.

Lin and Tenzin leave the Sato mobile parked outside the small town, so they don’t attract attention by driving a police car around the dilapidated town. They start walking towards the stone buildings, in search of Kuvira or any sign of her. 

Tenzin decides they should split up, so Lin checks the only bar in town and Tenzin asks around at the local inn. 

Lin walks into the seedy bar, everything inside covered in a thin layer of dust. A few people sit at the bar and there are customers scattered across several tables. She makes eye contact with the bartender as she takes a seat at the bar, all the way in the corner. 

“What’ll you have?” 

“Just water for now, please.” She says quietly. 

The bartender brings her a tall glass of ice water and she questions how clean it is, given the fact that there was dust on everything. 

She leans against the counter and begins to scan the room. Kuvira wouldn’t be hard to miss, her dark hair always in some type of braid. Kuvira usually wore green colored things as well, so she’d be easy to spot among the tan robes the people in this bar were wearing. 

Lin doesn’t see any dark haired woman wearing green, and realizes Kuvira isn’t here, and is about to get up from the bar when Tenzin sits down in the stool next to hers. 

“She was here. I asked the innkeeper, he said last night a tall woman with a birthmark under her eye rented a room. She left early this morning, though.” Tenzin says in a disappointed tone. 

“I think she’s probably moved on by now, maybe we should check the surrounding towns.” Lin sighs. “I can get a few more officers to help us look arou-“

Lin’s sentence is loudly interrupted by a canvas backpack smacking the countertop in between herself and Tenzin. 

“It’s good to know I’m difficult to find.” A low voice says from behind them. They turn around to see Kuvira, dressed in rough, somewhat dirty, tan robes. She has a dark brown colored garment over most of her head, to create a hood. “Why did you two want to find me? Oh, and just know you only found me because I let you.” Kuvira says firmly, implying that she could easily disappear again. 

“We need you for an important task.” Tenzin tells her. Kuvira narrows her eyes and cocks an eyebrow at this. 

“What task?” 

“We need someone to help Korra fully master metalbending.” 

Kuvira’s expression changes to a smug look, as she folds her arms. “You need me to train the Avatar? Why not my mother?” 

“My sister is very preoccupied with rebuilding Zaofu’s metal domes at the moment.” Lin explains, leaving out the fact that Kuvira is the one that created that problem. 

“Why can’t you do it?” She asks without hesitation, gesturing towards Lin. 

“Because I am married to my job. I’m lucky to even find the time to come out here to talk to you.” 

Kuvira squeezes her eyes shut and pinches the bridge of her nose. She looks like she has a headache from this conversation. 

“The Avatar doesn’t even like me.” She snaps after a short pause, opening her eyes again and letting her arm fall at her side. 

“It isn’t about if she likes you or not. You are one of the best metalbenders in the world, if not the best metalbender in the world. We need your help.” Tenzin pleads with her. 

“I don’t know, I need to think about it.” Kuvira picks up her bag off the bar countertop, and starts to walk away. 

“Kuvira, please-“ Tenzin starts, a worried look on his face. 

“I need to get going if i’m going to find somewhere to stay tonight. I don’t know if you noticed, but a lot of people hate me. I’d like to actually find somewhere safe for me to stay the night before the sun goes down.” she states, not even turning around to face the pair. 

“We’ll give you somewhere to stay. You are technically my niece, I don’t like you wandering around in places like this.” Lin says as empathetically as she can. One thing her and her adopted niece have in common is difficulty with emotions. 

Kuvira turns around and looks at Lin for a second, maybe it’s the resemblance to her mother Suyin or maybe she’s just tired of dust in her shoes, but she feels relieved by this invitation. 

“.....Fine.” 

Tenzin relaxes with relief and Lin pulls the Sato mobile keys out of her pocket. 

“Well, we’ve got a long drive back. I suggest we start now.” Lin points out. 

———————

Back at Air Temple island, Korra stands by the twin size bed in her bedroom. 

She’s folding her recently washed clothes and placing them inside her old wooden dresser. Her bedroom isn’t big, or fancy, but Korra has made it her home away from home. Pictures of her, Asami, Bolin and Mako are taped on her wall. A photo of her mom and dad hangs above her bed, in a simple picture frame. She has one of Meelo’s drawings on the back of her door. A few southern water tribe ornaments hang from the inside of her dresser. 

Korra has endless blue clothing. It’s her favorite color, and it reminds her of home. She folds each garment semi-nicely and puts it inside a drawer. 

Everything’s fine until she gets to a particular green shirt. Memories of her first fight with Kuvira come flooding back, along with the sinking feeling in her chest when she realized the older woman was, is, a better fighter than her. 

She pictures Kuvira’s face while holding the green shirt in her hands. There’s just something about Kuvira that Korra can’t pinpoint. She’s a little older than Korra, she’s intense, and takes some getting used to. Kuvira is extremely smart, especially when it comes to strategizing, and she’s a master bender. She’s got striking, yet attractive features. Her jawline is strong and she’s got a small birthmark just under her left eye that adds the perfect amount of character. And her voice…her voice..

Korra snaps out of her daydream and realizes she is still just standing there holding the green shirt. She folds it up and puts it in a drawer with her other clothes. 

She wonders what her first training session with Kuvira will be like.


	3. A Normal Saturday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mako and Bolin take Korra out to a new bar in Republic City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sum crazy stuff going on

It's the weekend, and Mako and Bolin are at Air Temple island, harassing Korra to join them in going out.

“Korraaaaa come on! It’ll be fun!” The green eyed, overjoyous Bolin begs. 

Korra rolls her eyes and looks at Mako, who just shrugs. Mako probably doesn’t care if Korra comes along or not, but it is evident that Bolin wants her to. 

“Okay, fine. I guess I could use a drink or two.” The avatar gives into her friend’s pleading, and Bolin’s face immediately lights up at Korra’s answer. 

“Yessss! We are going to have so much fun tonight!” Bolin exclaims, pulling on his brother’s arm in an attempt to get Mako to show some excitement. Mako just gives Bolin a small smile and nods. 

“Okay, let me go get ready before we leave.” Korra says as she walks back towards her room.

She closes her bedroom door behind her and strips off her usual blue attire, opens her dresser in search of a new outfit. 

Korra chooses to wear a white button up shirt with navy blue pants, leaving the top two buttons of her shirt undone. She leaves her hair down, which gives her an effortless messy hair look.   
She even goes as far to tuck in her white shirt to her trousers and adds a dark brown belt to complete the look. Sure, Korra is still wearing her usual white, blue, and brown colors but at least it's a little more put-together. 

Korra drips just a small amount of perfume on her wrists and neck, then rubs it in. This stuff is strong, so she doesn’t need more than a drop or two to do the job. She does one final check in the mirror, and approves of her appearance, then slips on some dark brown leather dress shoes. 

“Woaaah Korra! You look so good!” Bolin announces as Korra re-enters the room that he and Mako are waiting in. “Thanks Bo, you look good too! And you too, Mako.” She compliments the boys, as both of them are wearing similar attire to Korra.

Tenzin pops his head in from another room, “You all be careful and don’t stay out too late. Especially you, Korra.” He says as he gives the trio a stern look. 

“Don’t worry Tenzin! We will look out for her!” Bolin says while nudging Korra’s arm. 

“Sometimes I think you forget I am the Avatar.” Korra says half jokingly to Tenzin while folding her arms. He just narrows his eyes at her, then heads back into the room he was previously in. 

\-----------

“So may I ask where we are going, Bo?” Korra questions while observing the city street around her. Crowds of people coming and going, passing by. Neon signs light up the sidewalk and Sato mobiles line the street. It reminds her of Asami, who couldn’t tag along due to a formal work event, some dinner party. Korra wishes her best friend wasn’t so busy all the time. 

“This new bar that just opened up a few weeks ago, Varrick recommended it to me. He doesn’t go anywhere that isn’t worth his time so this has to be good.” Bolin replies. 

“Varrick thinks anywhere with alcohol is worth his time.” Mako adds sarcastically. 

Korra laughs out loud at that remark. Bolin now has a look of concern on his face. 

“Come on you guys, Varrick isn’t that bad. He just takes some getting used to.” Bolin says in defense of his boss. 

Korra thinks of someone else she knows of that takes some getting used to. 

“I’m willing to trust Varrick’s judgement for tonight, I wouldn’t know which places are good or bad on account of all this training Tenzin is having me do.” Korra adds. 

Bolin stops and yanks open a heavy door to their left. 

“This is the place!” He says, as if the bar is something special to look at. 

Korra and Mako walk inside, and Bolin follows. They sit at a high top table next to the bar. A waiter comes up to the table shortly after they are seated. 

“Hey guys, what can I get you?” He asks, looking at the three. They all order weirdly-named drinks off the menu and the waiter runs off to put in their order with the bartender. 

“So, Korra,” Bolin starts, “How’s the lava bending going? Ready for our next lesson?” He leans forward, because he is very interested in Korra’s response. He has been training her for a few weeks now, and is thrilled to be a teacher to the Avatar. 

“I think I’m ready, I’ve been practicing everything you showed me last time and I think I’m ready to try more advanced moves!” Korra gushes, unknowingly mirroring Bolin’s enthusiasm. Korra was really eager to learn more from her good friend, he was a good teacher. 

Mako has a semi-hurt look on his face. “What about lightning? Aren’t you excited for that?” He asks Korra and raises one eyebrow. He hopes he is as good of a tutor to Korra as Bolin is, but he’s not sure.   
“Yes, I am excited for more lightning bending, don’t worry Mako. Both of you guys are great to train with.” Korra reassures him, and Bolin has a big smile on his face. 

The waiter brings their drinks, sets them on the table. Korra doesn’t even wait until he walks away to start sipping on hers. 

“Looks like someone’s stressed out.” Mako points out while eyeing Korra down a little less than half her drink. 

“What?”, Korra says as she puts her drink back down on the table, “I do have a lot on my plate, so what if I want to let loose on a saturday night?” 

Mako is about to answer but there is a loud noise on the other side of the bar that makes all three of them turn their heads. 

The noise turns out to be a man shouting, he’s wearing some construction company uniform. He’s obviously had a few drinks, and his face is red with anger. He’s yelling at someone else sitting at the bar, but Korra can’t see who it is because now there is a crowd around the scene. 

“WELL, MAYBE IF YOU DIDN’T DESTROY HALF THE BUILDINGS IN REPUBLIC CITY WE WOULDN’T HAVE A PROBLEM RIGHT NOW!” He shouts at the top of his lungs. Korra is surprised the other person isn’t shouting back at him. She gets up from her seat and begins to push her way through the crowd. 

“Maybe if you weren’t an idiot you wouldn’t be picking a fight with me right now.” A familiar voice replied calmly. 

Korra doesn’t think about the familiarity of the voice, but keeps pushing until she gets to the front of the crowd. After all, as the Avatar she excels in conflict resolution. 

She stops in her tracks once she makes it to the front of the crowd. 

To her right is the angry, red-faced drunk man. He’s probably almost six feet tall. 

To her left is a dark haired woman, with a slightly annoyed look on her face. She’s wearing a mostly black suit with green accents that match her eyes. She’s almost as tall as the angry man, and she stands her ground confidently even though the man is in her face. 

Kuvira. 

Korra can’t take her eyes off Kuvira, even though this man is clearly the issue. 

“Do you even REALIZE how hard i’ve been working to fix buildings you DESTROYED?! And you have the nerve to even show your face in this city!” the man roars out. 

A shit-eating grin creeps up on Kuvira’s face, Korra knows whatever Kuvira is about to say will probably set this guy off even more. 

“You should be grateful. You’re employed because of me.” Kuvira tells him. The man takes in a deep breath as if he’s about to raise his voice again but Kuvira cuts him off. 

“Consider every yuan you earn a present from me.” 

Korra now realizes that is what Kuvira was grinning about. The older woman certainly knows exactly what to say, as if she’s rehearsed every conversation she’s a part of. 

The man’s eyes widen noticeably at that last comment, then he grits his teeth. He forms his right hand into a fist and takes a forceful swing at Kuvira, who avoids it without even trying. 

Kuvira now has a very concentrated look on her face, her eyes tracking the man’s movements. This guy must’ve had too much to drink if he’s picking a fight with a master combatant and bender. He starts throwing punches with both arms now. She leans right, left, and ducks down exactly on cue. Korra notices Kuvira’s arms are behind her back now, adding to the fact that this fight isn’t very challenging for her. 

The man has thrown quite a few punches at this point, he’s growing exhausted because none of his hits have connected. He has sweat forming on his forehead now, he stops swinging at Kuvira and blows out a big puff of air. 

“Fight back!” he yells as he slams one fist down on the countertop. 

“I prefer not to waste my time on people like you.” Kuvira states, eyeing him disapprovingly. Her hands are still behind her back, and Korra sees one Kuvira’s right hand slowly moving, forming into different shapes. 

Korra is confused for a second until it dawns on her. Kuvira is bending something, and doing so very subtly. Korra scans the room for any signs of moving metal or rock. There’s none, and her gaze returns to the former Great Uniter. 

Kuvira looks almost bored with the fight, not even one strand of hair out of place in her usual bun. 

“No, you’re just too scared to do anything without an entire army backing you up. You’re pathetic!” The drunken man announces into the bar. 

Now Kuvira raises her hand up, Korra thinks she is going to hit him for a second. Her hand remains in a semi-relaxed shape, though, it looks as if she’s holding an invisible cup. 

In a split second her hand changes formation, into a flat open palm. A thin strip of metal peels off a pipe above their heads, and Kuvira does a swift motion like she’s backhanding the air. This makes the piece of metal clamp over the man’s mouth, he makes a muffled noise as it wraps around his face. 

The man’s eyes widen in fear, he pales before Kuvira. She takes a step towards him, now her arms are folded behind her back again. The metal over the man’s mouth is held by only her pure willpower now. Korra knows this is the mark of a master bender. 

Kuvira calmly extends out her arm again, this time at her waist level with her palm faced upwards. Her pinky and ring fingers fold down onto her palm, while her middle and index finger remain pointed outwards. She then quickly snaps her two extended fingers back to her palm, which causes a metal chain from outside the bar to come flying through the window, scattering glass everywhere. 

The chain connects with the man’s thighs and tightly wraps around them like a constrictor snake. He falls to his knees. 

Now Kuvira towers over him, looking down at him. The man is breaking a sweat again, only this time it’s out of fear. Korra knows she should intervene but she feels frozen in her spot. This is all happening so fast. 

Kuvira keeps one hand behind her back still, her other arm is now raised closer to shoulder height. Her hand looks like she might choke the guy until a dull butterknife flies between them, pointed a few inches in front of his pale face. 

“I have the nerve to show my face in this city-”, Kuvira states firmly, “-because I have the nerve to do this to people who don’t know when to shut their mouth.” She clenches her hand into a fist, which causes the butterknife to become an extremely sharp point. 

Korra knows she has to act now or never. Just as Kuvira is about to make an example out of this guy, Korra bends the sharp tip away from his face and flings it to the floor. Kuvira’s eyes widen and now she really looks mad, she averts her gaze and makes searing eye contact with Korra. 

Kuvira narrows her eyes at Korra, then looks back at the man. She releases the metal clamp over his mouth and relaxes the chain so that he can escape. Without even looking at Korra, she walks out of the bar.


	4. The Old Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuvira and Korra's first day of training!

Korra catches up with the master metalbender a few blocks down the street from the bar, despite Mako and Bolin’s pleas to not chase after someone who almost killed a guy with a butterknife. 

“Kuvira!” Korra shouts out, trying to get her attention. Korra doesn’t exactly know why she’s following Kuvira, she just feels like that scene requires a conversation afterwards. 

Kuvira stops walking, and turns around to face Korra after a short pause. 

“Yes, Avatar?” Kuvira says smoothly. 

“What happened back there?”

“Nothing really, that guy just recognized me and decided to pick a fight he couldn’t win. Clearly he had terrible decision making skills even before the alcohol took effect.”

Korra feels alcohol taking effect in her own body, it’s effects delayed by the adrenaline rush from the bar fight. She wants to talk to Kuvira about the obvious thing they need to discuss. 

“So...I guess you’re here in Republic City because you’re training me.” Korra points out. 

“You’re very observant, Avatar.” Kuvira replies sarcastically. 

Korra feels her confidence lessen after Kuvira’s response. How does she always seem so prepared for everything?

“Well...I noticed during that fight..you held that metal thing over the guy’s mouth without even making any physical movements? Maybe you could show me how to do that.” 

Kuvira lets a small smirk play on her face. 

“There is a lot more you need to learn before you can do that.” She states, knowing that this isn’t the answer Korra wanted to hear. 

Korra has a pouty look on her face, like a kid that’s just been told they can’t have dessert until they finish dinner. Korra’s not sure what to say back, so there’s a small pause in their conversation until Kuvira breaks the silence. 

“See you on Monday morning, Avatar.” Kuvira turns around and resumes walking away from Korra, leaving the younger woman standing there. 

\-------------

The air outside is crisp and cool, typical weather for mornings in Republic City. Korra walks the city blocks with a bag full of training equipment, following Tenzin’s directions to get to a certain location where she’d be training with Kuvira. It had to be kept somewhat of a secret, Tenzin decided he didn’t want any outsiders to learn that Korra didn’t have complete mastery of all the elements. 

Korra turns a corner, and this road is much less busy than the one she was just walking on. There are dilapidated stores lining the street, only a few pedestrians here and there. For the most part, this area is pretty quiet. 

Korra finally comes to stand in front of the entrance to a large building, probably once a warehouse. The building is made of bricks, with large windows about 20 or so feet off the ground. No windows on the ground floor, no one on the street can see inside. The double door Korra stands in front of is made of steel, the hinges rusty. A rusty chain with a padlock is wrapped around the handles. 

Tenzin told her she would have to go in from the alleyway entrance, not the street one. She walks down the alley neighboring the old building, finding a similar steel door, but this time without a chain and lock. Korra pulls on the handle, and it is actually unlocked. That means Kuvira must already be here, somewhere. 

Korra finds herself in a large empty room, beams of sunlight from those high windows hitting the dusty metal plated floor in front of her. There’s a few concrete beams going from the floor to the ceiling, as she observes her surroundings she realizes there’s no sign of Kuvira yet. Korra lets out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. She sets down her bag and is about to start wrapping up her hands with cloth in preparation for training when the metal plate under her feet wraps around her ankles. 

She’s startled by the sudden movement, and she snaps her head up to look for Kuvira. 

Where is she? Korra wonders as she scans the room, again. The metal plate then releases her ankles and Korra turns around to find Kuvira standing a few feet behind her, leaning against one of the building’s concrete support pillars.   
“Hello, Avatar.” The older woman’s authoritative, yet playful voice says. She’s wearing a dark green tank top and baggy black cargo pants which are tapered and cinched up at the ankle. 

“You know that’s not my name.” Korra says lightly. 

“But it is your title.” 

Korra just knows today is going to be a long day. She decides to drop the argument before it starts.

“So what are you gonna show me today?” she asks. 

Kuvira folds her arms over her chest and starts to pace around Korra. 

“Actually, today I’m not going to show you anything-” She answers as she raises a piece of the metal floor plating in the air, “-you’re going to show me something.” As soon as she’s finished her sentence, she whips the metal scrap in Korra’s direction.

Korra puts her arms up and redirects the metal to her left, then lets it drop and slide across the floor. 

Kuvira just smirks and Korra has no idea what she just did wrong. 

“Lesson number one, Avatar, don’t help your opponent.” 

Kuvira bends the metal behind Korra and lightly nudges it into her side. 

“If this was serious, you’d have just given me an opportunity to land a lethal blow.” Kuvira points out confidently. 

Korra can feel herself getting frustrated. This feels less like training and more like Kuvira teasing her. 

Korra regains control of the metal piece poking at her side. Kuvira lets her take it, she needs to provoke the Avatar a little bit to simulate a real fight. 

Korra splits the piece into two, and throws them towards Kuvira one after another, for a staggered effect.   
Kuvira just extends her arms in front of herself, palms facing outwards. The two metal panels just freeze midair, several inches in front of her. 

The expert metalbender joins her palms together calmly and the two flying pieces meld back into one piece. 

Korra’s frustration grows at the fact that Kuvira is completely unbothered by her attack. The Avatar rips up several chunks of concrete out of the floor, her arms over her head, the concrete pieces hovering above her. 

“Lesson number two-” Kuvira starts as Korra flings pieces of concrete at her, missing every time, “-don’t let your opponent get a rise out of you.” she finishes as the last concrete piece falls to the ground. 

Korra’s looking very aggravated now, she grunts and clenches her fists at her side.   
Kuvira takes in the sight of a very flustered Avatar. 

“You can’t let your emotions make you lose focus.” the former Great Uniter says as she levitates a small, dark gray colored rock out of her pocket. She lets it hover slightly above her hand. As her hand changes positions, the rock changes form. Sometimes it looks almost liquid, then an instant later it is a solid cube shape. 

Kuvira motions with her other hand for Korra to come closer. The younger woman walks up to her, about a foot of separation between them. Korra’s palms start to sweat, Kuvira is intimidating even when she’s not trying to be. 

Forest green eyes meet royal blue ones, and Kuvira floats the grey rock over Korra's cupped hands. 

“Try to do what I just did.” Kuvira says lightly, her voice low. 

Korra doesn’t know why but she’s having a hard time with this task. She can get the rock to be a round-ish attempt at a sphere, then a lopsided rectangular shape. This takes a lot more focus than it seems. It’s hard to focus when she knows Kuvira is watching her every move. Feelings inside her build up and she feels just as frustrated as she did when she tried to learn airbending for the first time. 

Korra’s brows furrow and she drops the rock on the floor. Her fists are clenched again and she’s just annoyed at her own lack of ability.   
“I don’t know WHY I can’t do it! I’m the fucking Avatar! And I’ve been able to bend meteorites before!” She yells out as she walks over to her bag on the floor and picks it up. 

“Avata-” Kuvira starts but is quickly cut off. 

“Don’t call me that! Maybe that’s just the problem, I can’t do this because you’re not even a good teacher! The entire time I’ve been here I’ve felt like I'm a laughing stock for you!” Korra spits out. 

Kuvira feels a little hurt by her response, but she’d never let Korra know that. She just stares back at her with her arms folded behind her, typical military stance. 

Korra realizes Kuvira isn’t going to say anything back so she just storms out of the building. She’s on the opposite side of the city that Air Temple island is, so she decides to just keep walking forwards. 

Finally she reaches the park in the middle of the city. There’s a statue of her on the left side of the park so she goes to the right. Korra doesn’t feel like being recognized at the moment. 

She sits down near the edge of a pond. Baby turtleducks swim around the center of the water, and Korra just watches them. If she was a turtleduck she wouldn’t have to do so much stupid training with people she doesn’t like. Korra brings her knees up to her chin and wraps her arms around her legs, letting out a sigh. She knows she shouldn’t have gone off on Kuvira like that, especially on the first day. 

After some time, Korra stands back up and decides it’s time to go back to Air Temple island. She slings her training bag around her shoulder and starts making her way home.


	5. The Accidental Spy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter, and the new 'radio-phone' technology I added. I needed a way for Kuvira to talk to Baatar Sr. all the way in Zaofu without physically going there.

The next day, Korra accompanies Tenzin to a meeting arranged by President Raiko. They would be discussing how to further protect the spirit world portal in Republic City with other leaders, including Varrick and Chief Beifong. Korra hates going to these meetings, but Tenzin always tells her it’s the “Avatar’s responsibility.” 

Half an hour into the meeting, Korra isn’t paying much attention to the conversation going on. She’s slouched in her chair, propping her head up with one arm. She wishes everyone would hurry up and be done talking. 

Raiko says something about Kuvira and Korra instantly perks up. 

“I just don’t understand how you can trust her.” he grumbles. 

“She’s technically part of my family, sir... I don’t have much family.” Lin explains. 

“She was supposed to stay in Zaofu. That was one of the terms of her release.” 

“With all due respect sir, she can’t stay there. The people of Zaofu hate her. She can’t find work there, let alone even show her face in public. She’s been wandering around the Earth Kingdom, pointlessly, for….I don’t even know how long.” The tough-skinned police chief almost shows emotion in her reply. 

President Raiku looks to Tenzin for some sort of approval. Tenzin slightly nods his head once, in agreement with what Lin just said. 

“Fine. If you’re going to have her living in my city, you better have things under control, Beifong.” He states. 

Korra imagines where Kuvira is living. She thinks Kuvira’s probably a neat freak, and her place probably looks boring. She wonders what Kuvira does outside of training. 

Korra’s thinking of all the things the former great uniter could be up to right now when everyone at the conference table stands up. Finally, the meeting is over. Korra bursts out the door and Tenzin calmly follows her, moments behind. 

“Hey Tenzin, do you think it would be okay if I stay in the city a little longer? I thought since I’m so close to Future Industries I’d stop by to say hi to Asami.” Korra looks at the old airbender with the best puppy dog eyes she can do. 

“....I suppose. Be careful, and don’t get yourself into trouble. I want you back at Air Temple island by nighttime.” Tenzin gives in, only because Korra has been putting a lot of effort into her training recently. Korra’s face lights up and with a quick “thank you!” she’s gone. 

\-----------------

Korra is on her way to Future Industries headquarters, passing a series of apartment buildings near the police station. She’s making good time on her walk to Asami’s office when she hears something that makes her pause. 

“No..No! I can’t…….I don’t want to see her!...” She hears a familiar voice coming from an open window of one of the apartments. “Dad, I’m not going to show up. I just can’t do it.” 

Then she hears the sound of a radio-phone hanging up and slamming onto a hard surface. 

Korra knows the voice belongs to Kuvira. She thinks of checking on her, but decides against it due to their previous encounter being less than pleasant. 

Korra is standing on the sidewalk across from Kuvira’s door, about to continue walking, when the door swings open. Kuvira looks angry for a split second until she sees Korra, then her expression changes to one of scrutiny. 

“Is the avatar spying on me?” Kuvira eyes Korra head to toe, suspiciously. 

“N-No! No. I was just walking by and I recognized your voice and-” the younger woman feels blood rushing into her cheeks. 

“My voice? So you just heard me talking to my dad.”

Korra falls silent because the metalbender is correct. 

“I see. Do me a favor and forget about that.” Kuvira says sternly as she starts to turn away. Korra is amazed at her ability to appear threatening, seconds after she was just caught in a very vulnerable state. 

“Wait. I wanted to say…I’m sorry...about yesterday. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, I was feeling really frustrated and took it out on you. Hopefully you’ll still teach me more metalbending.” Korra says quickly. She’s scared Kuvira will reject her apology. 

“Well, there’s no one better than me to teach you. We’ll continue tomorrow, same place.” Kuvira says after a short pause. She gives Korra one last look, then turns away and continues on with whatever she was going to do. 

Korra feels weird. Kuvira did accept her apology... in her own way. The avatar shakes off the weird feeling and continues to walk to her friend’s workplace. 

\---------------

Korra and Asami sit down on a black leather couch in her large office. The office overlooks part of Republic City, with elegant floor-to-ceiling windows on one wall of the room. On one side of the room is Asami’s desk, and stacks of paperwork she has gone through today for her company. On the other side of the room, there is a mini-bar with all types of expensive alcohol and crystal glasses. The entire office is themed in red, black, and gray tones. 

“So,” Asami pokes Korra’s arm, “How’s it going with your training? I’m sorry I didn’t go out with you guys the other night, I’m still getting the hang of running a company and time management.” 

Korra half-smiles at her best friend. “It’s fine Asami, that night was, uh.. boring.. anyways. My training is going… okay.” 

“Oh, what’s wrong?” Asami questions. Asami always knows when something’s not sitting right with Korra. 

“I don’t know, I just feel weird with Kuvira around.” she confesses. 

Asami raises one eyebrow. “Wait. Tenzin chose Kuvira to be your new teacher?” 

“Yep.”

Asami stands up and walks over to her mini-bar. 

“Well, that sounds like something we can discuss over a drink.” She says as she unscrews the cap to an aged bottle of whisky. 

Korra silently agrees, walks over and takes one of the glasses that Asami’s poured. 

They sit back down on the couch, and both take a sip of their drinks. The dark colored liquid feels warm going down Korra’s throat, but it kind of feels good. 

“I don’t think Kuvira likes me very much,” Korra blurts out. 

“Why not?” the other woman asks.

“She likes to tease me, I feel like I'm under a microscope around her,” Korra pauses to take another sip, “and she won’t even call me by my name. She always refers to me as ‘avatar’.”

Asami thinks for a second to come up with some genuine advice, while swirling around the liquid in her glass. 

“Kuvira has a difficult personality. You know, she’s probably built up a lot of walls emotionally with everything that’s happened to her.” Asami’s answer reminds Korra of the time she was with Kuvira in the spirit world, when Kuvira opened up to her about her biological parents with tears streaming down her cheeks. 

“You’re right. That reminds me, today at Raiko’s meeting they said something about Kuvira leaving Zaofu before she came here. Chief Beifong says she hadn’t been living there for awhile. I overheard Kuvira arguing with her dad on the radio-phone today, too…” Korra realizes something bad probably happened between Kuvira and her adopted family after she was released from prison. 

“Like I said, Kuvira is a complex person. But I know you can get on her good side, Korra. You always find a way to get people to like you. Remember how Chief Beifong didn’t like you at first, and now she’s practically your cool aunt?” Asami reassures the concerned avatar. 

Korra nods, then tilts back her cup, allowing all the remaining whisky to be her final sip. She places the crystal glass down at the mini-bar and walks over to the large windows to think. She can see so many buildings in Republic City from this height. She can even see the old warehouse where she’ll be meeting Kuvira tomorrow. 

Her heart rate picks up. She’s definitely nervous for her next training with Kuvira.


	6. The Avatar has a realization

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's heating up u guys! Remember this IS a slow burn fic so I have to time everything appropriately

Several rusty metal sheets whiz past Korra. The Avatar side steps, ducks and jumps to avoid making contact with the metal being hurled at her. Kuvira has decided that before Korra can learn more offensive moves, she needs to perfect her defense. 

Kuvira’s favorite defense strategy is to smoothly avoid every attack. It helps her maintain her image as a fearless, skilled and collected fighter. Kuvira has even trained herself to keep a straight face while an opponent is attacking her. She knows a fight isn’t just about the physical aspect, but the emotional one as well. Showing emotion is showing weakness. 

The metalbending master stomps her left foot down, which causes several metal sheets to peel off the floor. Kuvira goes through a motion that looks like forcefully pushing the air, and the metal she has suspended in the air begins to zip towards Korra. 

Korra successfully dodges every single one except the last, the corner scratching her bicep, leaving behind a small cut. 

“Ow!” She blurts out. 

“A little more defense practice and that won’t happen to you.” Kuvira states flatly, folding her arms over her chest. 

“Or maybe we could take a break for a second, I'm exhausted.” Korra admits. 

Kuvira makes a face of disapproval.

“I suppose.”

The Avatar sits down and stretches her leg muscles. 

“Can we do at least a little bit of offensive training today?” Korra looks up at Kuvira, her aqua colored eyes full of hope that her wish will be granted. 

Kuvira’s straight face softens just a little bit as she looks down at Korra, the change in her expression almost unnoticeable. 

“I’ll show you one thing. That’s it, then no more offensive work until next week.” 

Korra is surprised at her teacher’s unusual disposition today. Kuvira normally does not like it when Korra tries to direct the lesson. 

Kuvira forms a rectangular metal band, slightly thicker than the metal sheets she was previously throwing at Korra. 

Korra stands up and walks over to where Kuvira is standing. She’s standing about 5 feet in front of a concrete pillar, in a fighting stance. Kuvira looks like she could disintegrate the pillar with the glare in her eyes alone. 

“This move is a very useful stun attack. I’ve used it countless times. It will assert your dominance over an enemy of any shape, size, or bending ability.” The older woman explains. 

She takes the metal band and whips it at the concrete pillar, it strikes at the height where an opponent’s eyes would be. The edges of the band wrap around the pillar, and Korra realizes this move is meant to temporarily blind an attacker. 

Kuvira continues to hold the metal blindfold in place through willpower as she returns to a formal military stance with her hands behind her back. Now she’s just showing off. 

Korra is very drawn to something about Kuvira’s aggressive demeanor, her precision and confidence. Maybe she admires her teacher’s great talent and skill in bending, or maybe she just admires her teacher…

“Korra? Did you hear anything I just said?” 

Korra snaps back to reality when she realizes Kuvira has asked her to try to replicate the attack she’s demonstrated. 

“Uh, yeah.” Korra rubs the back of her neck and feels a light blush play on her face. 

Korra gets into a fighting stance in front of the same pillar, and Kuvira releases the metal band. She brings it to Korra and places it in her hand. 

The Avatar makes a serious face and begins to levitate the metal piece just to the left of her arm. Korra thinks about her intent, and feels the chi flowing through her body. She throws a forward jab in the air and the metal band goes flying. It hits the pillar about 2 feet too high, in real life it would’ve gone over an opponent’s head. Korra lets the metal fall to the floor and she lets out a puff of air. 

“What did I do wrong?” she asks and turns to face Kuvira, who is standing behind her. 

“You didn’t give enough focus to your enemy. You have to put that small piece precisely over his eyes, without hesitation. Don’t just feel your intent, you have to focus it to a single point, right between your attacker’s eyes.” Kuvira says very bluntly, a flash of aggression in her eyes.

Kuvira thinks of all the times she used this move on people when she was the great uniter. 

Korra attempts again, and again, and again. The young avatar begins to run out of steam, her fighting stance looking less than optimal now. Kuvira doesn’t do less than optimal. 

“Stop.” 

“But I almost got it that one time and-” Korra thinks Kuvira is tired of all her failed attempts, but she is interrupted by a strong arm wrapping around her waist from behind. Korra is at a loss for words, and thoughts. As the other arm fixes Korra’s slanted shoulders, she realizes her bad fighting stance is being corrected. 

The Avatar feels two things: the former great uniter’s body pressed up against hers, and a rush of blood into her face....amongst other places. 

“There. That’s better.” Kuvira says as she lets go of the younger woman, stepping in front of her. 

Kuvira notices the majority of Korra’s face is flushed red. She just smirks at the sight, but doesn’t say anything. 

“I...um....uh...I need to go uh, do some lavabending training with Bolin now..heh...gotta go..” the choppy sentence escapes the Avatar’s lips in a quiet voice. 

The older woman raises one eyebrow. 

“I thought you trained with Bolin yesterday?” She questions, fully knowing Korra is just trying to create an excuse to leave because she’s flustered. 

“Uh, yeah... Tenzin wants me to put in more effort.. so I have to do it today as well..” Korra glances at the door and does a fake ‘oh well’ shrug as she walks out. 

As soon as she’s out of the building, she covers her face with both hands. Her face feels hot, she’s probably still blushing. She knows her excuse to leave wasn’t very convincing. 

Korra looks up at the sky, baby blue with white puffy clouds. She lets out a large exhale and begins to internally question why she felt those...feelings...when Kuvira touched her. 

She doesn’t have a crush on her teacher, does she? 

Korra smacks her forehead with her palm at the realization. As if training with the metalbending master wasn’t hard enough already. 

\------------

Later on that day, Korra meets up with Bolin, Mako and Asami at a restaurant famous for its noodles. This was obviously Bolin’s choice of meeting place. 

The group exchanges hugs and greetings, then they all sit down at a large table inside the restaurant. The waiter comes and takes their food orders, while pouring them all glasses of ice water. When he’s finished, he scurries back to the kitchen to put in the order with the chef. 

“So guys,” Bolin says with a huge grin on his face, “you know my birthday is coming up soon. I was talking with Asami, and we were thinking of throwing a big party! Doesn’t that sound amazing?” 

Mako cracks a smile at his brother’s enthusiasm for partying. Korra grins at him too, his positive attitude is so infectious. 

“Yeah Bo, I could go for a little partying!” Korra matches his energy. She really is excited, it’s been awhile since any one of them threw a party. Mako and Asami are always occupied with their work, Korra’s always training, and Bolin just started filming a new mover with Varrick. 

Asami explains the party will be held at her mansion, and the event will be flowing with good food and alcohol. Bolin will get a big birthday cake with his face on it, and there will be music and drinking games. Korra likes the sound of all these things. 

The waiter comes back to the table with their orders, and Korra tries to drown out her newfound feelings for Kuvira with noodles.


	7. Bolin's Birthday Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is my longest one yet. I had to look up 'masculine bar drinks' to figure out what to make kuvira order at a bar lmfaoo, enjoy!!

Several days later, Korra’s in her bedroom, fidgeting with her outfit in the mirror. Tonight is Bolin’s birthday party at Asami’s house, and Korra knows her friends well enough to know they will be dressing up for this occasion. 

The Avatar is wearing a linen blue button up shirt, black suit pants and a black belt. She’s deciding whether or not to wear a tie when Tenzin knocks on her door.

“Come in.” 

“Mako and Bolin are waiting for you outside, I told them I will bring you all to the party with Oogi. Safest way of travel in Republic City is a sky bison, after all.” Tenzin informs her. 

He watches Korra hold up a black necktie to her collar, then lower it. 

“You should wear the tie. You’ll look great, Korra.” 

Korra chuckles lightly. 

“Thanks, Tenzin. I’ll wear it. Let me just get Bolin’s birthday present and then we can go.” She picks up a small box wrapped in emerald green paper from her nightstand. The box contains a collar for Pabu that Korra made by hand. It resembles water tribe style bracelets, which Korra learned how to make from her mom as a little girl. She still hasn’t forgotten how to make them. 

Tenzin and Korra emerge from a doorway which leads into the front courtyard of the temple. Mako and Bolin are both wearing tuxedos, Mako is adjusting his maroon colored bow tie while Bolin is petting Oogi. 

“Happy birthday Bo!!” Korra shouts out and gives him a crushing hug. 

“AH! Thank...you....Korra..” Bolin says while being squeezed with avatar strength, a big smile creeping up on his face. She hands him the green box and he immediately tears it open. His face lights up even further at the sight of Pabu’s new collar. “Thank you so much Korra! It’s perfect!” He and Korra hug again, then Korra directs her attention to Mako. 

“Hello Officer Mako!” Korra says while feigning a serious expression and doing her best salute, and Bolin breaks out laughing. 

“Yeah yeah, hi Korra.” Mako says back with a half-grin on his face. 

“Well everyone, let’s get going. I don’t want Bolin to be late to his own birthday party.” Tenzin points out. 

The four of them climb on Oogi’s back, and enjoy the peaceful ride to Asami’s mansion. Republic City is so alive with lights at night, neon signs and billboards illuminate the otherwise black night sky.   
The Sato estate is surrounded by trees and vegetation. It is easy to spot from above, each window in the mansion has light peering out of it. Asami always plans things to perfection, and Bolin’s birthday wouldn’t be any different. 

Tenzin directs Oogi to land in front of the main entryway to the Sato mansion. Bolin, Mako and Korra jump down from Oogi’s saddle and wave goodbye to Tenzin as he takes off again.

“Hey you guys!” Asami pokes her head out of the main door to the building. “Bolin, come here!” She motions for Bolin to come closer and as he does, she fully opens the door, revealing green colored decorations everywhere. There was some music playing softly, and only a few of Asami’s work friends had arrived so far. A table in the corner of the room had different food of all types, and waiters were taking drink orders to and from the full service bar. A big picture of Bolin in his old Fire Ferrets gear was hanging from the wall, and there was a massive cake with a picture of his face on it. 

Korra took in all the sights and sounds when Asami tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Korra, can I talk to you for a quick second?” The Future Industries CEO asks. 

“Sure.” She has no idea what this is about.

Asami pulls her friend to the side, out of earshot from Mako and Bolin.

“I forgot to tell you this earlier but I invited Kuvira.” Asami says proudly.

Korra feels butterflies in her stomach, her palms sweat a little.

“You what?” 

“I invited Kuvira! No one at this party except the four of us will really know who she is, er, was, so she’s safe here. Besides, I think you and her should spend time together outside of training for once. Maybe that will make it easier to work together if you warm up to each other!” 

Asami has good intentions but she has no idea what she’s done. Korra bites her bottom lip and stares at the floor. A worried look plays on Asami’s face. 

“What’s wrong? I thought you wanted her to be nicer to you, and I think having drinks together could help that..” She trails off. Her eyes widen ever so slightly, she realizes why Korra was so worried about Kuvira's opinion the other day in her office. 

“You like Kuvira.” Asami states boldly. Korra looks up to meet her gaze and she feels embarrassed, even though she knew Asami would figure it out eventually. 

“She was really close to me at our last training. She touched my shoulder...and my waist..and I felt frozen, but in a good way. I don’t really know how to explain it well.” Korra admits to Asami. 

Asami has a shit-eating grin on her face, feeling accomplished that she accidentally set up the Avatar with the former Great Uniter. She nudges Korra’s arm. “Youuu like heeerr” She says in a singsongy voice. Korra smiles. “Stop it ‘sami!” 

The realization that Kuvira could already be here hits Korra. “Is she here yet?” She inquires while scanning the room. 

“Relax. She’s not here yet. I don’t even know for sure if she’s coming, to be honest.” 

Korra feels a pang of disappointment at the thought of not seeing the older woman tonight, yet she also feels relief. She wonders if the past Avatars were as bad with romantic feelings as she is. 

Asami’s name is called from another part of the room, and she gives Korra a half-hug. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just try to have fun.” She says, then starts walking in the direction of where her name was yelled out. 

Korra quickly walks to the bathroom and surveys her appearance in a mirror. 

Hair? Still looking nice in a half-up, half-down style. Check.

Shirt? Not wrinkled yet, at least. Check. 

Tie? Still snugly held against her shirt collar. Check. 

One last once-over and Korra decides she is pleased with how she looks. She walks back to the main party room and sees Bolin, Mako and Asami setting up several shots at a table. 

“Already lining up for shots huh?” Korra says playfully to the three of them.

“Come on and sit down, don’t act like you don’t want to!” Bolin answers. 

Korra takes a seat at the round table, her back to the front door and Asami passes out full shot glasses to everyone. 

“To Bolin! Happy birthday bro.” Mako says as he raises his shot in the air. The three others do the same, then they all clink glasses and down their shots.

Asami pours them all another round. And another. Korra’s three shots in, feeling buzzed along with all her friends. 

Bolin and Mako are in the middle of a playful argument over which type of bending is superior. Asami looks at Korra, then looks past her, then back at her. A small smile is on Asami’s face when she says “Look who just walked in.” 

Korra turns around only to have her gaze met by Kuvira’s searing green eyes. She’s standing on the other side of the room, wearing a completely black suit except her olive green tie. Her raven hair is down tonight, with her usual side part. Kuvira is fixing her cufflinks on one of her sleeves without even looking. 

The Avatar feels her heart pump faster. She looks back to Asami for reassurance. 

“Well don’t just sit there! Go talk to her!” Asami lightly kicks Korra under the table. 

She gets up and walks toward Kuvira. Her feet feel heavy and half of her wants to turn away and walk in any other direction, the other half of her is drawn towards the woman who stands a few feet in front of her now. The only reason Korra is brave enough to talk to Kuvira, after what happened during their last training session, is the three shots taking effect. 

“Hello, Avatar.” Kuvira says nonchalantly. 

“Hey” Korra imagined her voice sounding more confident, but when it came out it sounded almost like a whimper. 

“I see you’ve had a little bit to drink already?” The metalbender asks. Kuvira scans Korra, and notices her necktie is slightly loose. The taller woman reaches out to fix it, her hands pulling the knot tighter around Korra’s neck. 

Kuvira is fully aware of the effect this has on Korra, watching her face turn red, similar to the last time they were together. Kuvira cracks a half-smile at the fact that Korra can’t run away this time. 

“I-um, thanks for fixing that.” Korra says sheepishly. 

Kuvira nods, then gestures towards the bar. “I think I should get caught up to you, huh?” 

Korra can’t help but let a small smile show through. Kuvira wants to spend some time with her, even if she won’t admit it verbally.   
They walk towards the bar, Korra notices her three friends on the other side of the room are all staring and playfully grinning at her. Bolin drunkenly makes a heart shape with his hands. Of course Asami had to tell Mako and Bolin. 

“Why are your friends doing that?”

Uh oh. Korra’s not the only one that noticed them acting goofy. She feels a bit embarrassed that Kuvira saw Bolin’s heart hand gesture at the two of them walking together. 

“Uhhh...I don’t know..” Korra couldn’t think of any good lie to tell Kuvira why they were doing that. 

They’re at the bar countertop now, Kuvira asks the bartender for three whisky shots, in a way that almost sounds like she’s demanding it even though she’s asking a question. While they wait, Korra eyes Kuvira head to toe. She’s wearing expensive shoes, they’re clean and polished. Her black pants aren’t too tight around her body, but they fit her perfectly. Korra can see the inside of her pockets are lined with green fabric. How the hell does she afford all this? 

Korra looks up at the sound of the three shot glasses being placed on the countertop in front of them. The young avatar notices Kuvira has been watching her this whole time. Korra’s eyes widen at the realization that the metalbender caught her checking her out. 

Kuvira lets out a chuckle at Korra’s reaction. Without hesitation, she grabs a shot and knocks it back, then again, and again. She places the final empty shot glass back on the countertop as Korra looks at her in awe. 

“Holy shit!” She exclaims. “I didn’t think you could do that.” 

Kuvira half-smiles. “When I was in Zaofu’s military we’d play drinking games most days off.”   
She thinks of Zaofu, and Suyin for a fraction of a second. 

“Wow. You? Playing drinking games? I almost don’t believe it.” Korra teases her, finding some confidence from the alcohol in her system. 

“Well it’s true,” The dark haired woman assures her, “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Avatar.” 

Korra puts her hands on her hips. “Like what?” she challenges. 

“I’m typically very good at reading people. Some people are open books, some are slightly more difficult. But in the end, I can always figure a person out.” Kuvira states confidently. 

“Oh yeah? What type of person am I?” Korra asks Kuvira to test her lesser known talent.   
“You’re definitely the ‘open book’ type. You let your emotions show, which isn’t a bad thing- except for in combat. You love and trust your friends greatly. You also like to be a people-pleaser, at times.” Kuvira explains. 

Korra’s impressed to say the least. Everything Kuvira said was correct. Her lack of response prompts a shit-eating grin on the metalbender’s face. 

“I see I’ve hit the bullseye.” Kuvira says proudly. 

Korra shrugs. “I’ll admit you did.” 

“So, got any more questions for me, Avatar?” She says while motioning the poor bartender back over. Korra asks for a jack and coke, Kuvira orders a black russian. 

“Hmm. Actually, yes, I do,” the shorter woman began, “How do I figure you out?” The bartender comes back with their drinks and they both take a sip.

Kuvira is surprised at Korra’s question. “Why do you want to figure me out?”

“Because you are really hard to read. I can never tell if you’re in a good or bad mood, the two seem to blend together. I can never get a reaction out of you when we’re training.” The Avatar confesses. 

Kuvira actually gives Korra a full smile. 

“I can get a reaction out of you, though.” 

Korra feels her heart rate pick up again. She’s lost her train of thought and she needs to come up with something to say. 

“What do you mean?” is what she chooses to say. 

“Don’t think I didn’t notice how red your face was after I corrected your form. I thought maybe you had feelings for me, but that was confirmed by you running away immediately after it happened.” Kuvira states, catching the Avatar’s gaze at the end of her sentence. 

Korra’s mouth feels dry and she swallows. Her palms are sweaty and her heart is pounding like a drum. She really doesn’t know what to say now. 

Kuvira picks up on the fact that Korra is stunned. She feels loosened up from the shots, and sees her window of opportunity to make a move. The metalbender pulls lightly on Korra’s arm with one hand and she leans in right next to Korra’s ear. 

“Don’t worry Avatar, I find you attractive as well.” she whispers.   
This just makes Korra’s heart beat even faster, but out of excitement. The younger woman feels butterflies in her stomach, and she feels ecstatic. 

Kuvira quickly downs the rest of her drink, and grabs Korra by the hand. The Avatar allows the former great uniter to lead her across the main room, into an adjacent hallway of the Sato mansion. Korra can’t believe this is actually happening, she must be dreaming. 

Kuvira turns a corner in the hallway which leads to a darker area, then she places her hands on the Avatar’s hips. Korra puts her hands on Kuvira’s shoulders, and the taller woman leans in to kiss her. 

Korra leans into her and their lips touch. The energy between them sends a shiver down Korra’s spine. She moves one hand from Kuvira’s strong shoulders to the back of her neck, the other hand moving to Kuvira’s waist. 

Kuvira’s lips are soft and she tastes slightly of alcohol. Korra loves it, loves everything about this, so she continues to kiss the former great uniter. She eventually breaks away to catch her breath, resting her head between Kuvira’s neck and shoulder. The older woman is wearing some sort of cologne, probably expensive, and it smells of pine and spice. Korra closes her eyes and tries to make time stop at this perfect moment. 

“Korra!” A voice calls from the room containing Bolin’s party. “KORRA!” The voice gets louder. 

Korra pulls away from Kuvira, looks up at her for a response.

“Until next time, Korra.” Kuvira winks at her and Korra feels overwhelmed with attraction, and satisfaction that she finally got Kuvira to call her by her real name. Then, the metalbender turns and walks back towards the party. 

The Avatar makes her way back to the party as well, a few minutes after Kuvira. The voice that interrupted her make out session with Kuvira was belonging to Bolin. 

“Where’d you go? I was getting worried you left!” He says, concern on his face. 

“I, um... went to the bathroom. I’d never leave your party early, Bo!” Korra reassures him. 

Bolin grabs Korra’s hand and drags her back towards everyone, the crowd in the room has almost doubled in size since Korra last saw it. There’s music playing loudly and someone turns the lights off. Everyone hollers excitedly in approval of the dark room with a few multicolor lights still shining overhead. 

Korra looks left, then right. Kuvira is nowhere to be spotted. She has a feeling she won’t see her again for the rest of the night. Korra decides another one of Kuvira’s lesser-known talents is disappearing at exactly the right time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? Hopefully I didn't put the kiss in too soon, but I wanted kuvira to reveal her feelings for korra with the help of alcohol. I feel like kuvira isn't the type of person to waste time once she figures out there's mutual attraction.


	8. Emotions Can Make You Do Crazy Things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry i didn't post for a few days. I had writer's block for a little bit and then i was pretty busy with things irl. There will be exciting new developments in the coming chapters though :P

“Remember, you really have to be aware of your chi during this. Working with lightning is very dangerous” Mako reminds Korra. 

The pair are just outside of the air temple, practicing lightning bending in the courtyard. Mako stands next to Korra, demonstrating his form without actually sending electricity into the air. 

“Come on Mako, I’m the Avatar. I’ve done this before.” Korra whines.

“Yes you are the Avatar, but don’t forget about what happened to Avatar Aang.” He replies. 

Korra remembers a specific night. Tenzin told her, Mako, Bolin and Asami the story of his father being struck by a lightning bolt from an extremely skilled, prodigal firebender named Azula. Tenzin told this story, mostly as a warning to Korra about the dangers of going into the avatar state, but he also enjoys retelling stories his father told him. 

“But there’s no one here that would attack me. And, I'm not going into the avatar state!” Korra argues. 

Mako just side eyes her and she decides to stop arguing with her friend. 

“Okay, now I am going to use lightning to demonstrate this, so don’t move in front of me.” He says firmly. 

Korra watches as Mako does a swift movement with his arms, his hands having only the index and middle fingers pointed outwards. Sparks start to appear out of thin air near his hands, then with one move he steps forward and simultaneously thrusts one of his hands in the same direction as the step. Lightning crackles around his hand and a bright blue-ish white bolt zips from the tip of his fingers to a nearby rock formation. 

The lightning bolt leaves a small black burn mark on the rock, right in the center. He turns to face Korra. 

“Now you try, and remember, focus your energy outwards through your fingertips. If something doesn’t feel right, stop what you’re doing or you could shock yourself.” 

Mako takes a step back and Korra walks up to the spot where he was just standing. She takes in a large breath through her nose and exhales out of her mouth. She attempts to clear her mind, then she gets into a fighting stance. This makes her think of training with Kuvira. 

Korra can’t help but think of the last time she saw Kuvira. She goes through the flowing arm movements smoothly, with her eyes closed. She feels the air around her hands become heated. 

The Avatar makes sure to leave only her index and middle finger extended. Her burning desire for the former great uniter becomes the only thing on her mind. She feels the sparks of lightning begin to crackle in the air around her, the destructive potential begging to be unleashed. As she thrusts her arm forward through the air, Korra thinks of Kuvira’s lips on hers. 

Korra opens her eyes at just the right moment to see a white-hot bolt of lightning, much larger and brighter than Mako’s, jump from her fingertips to the rock formation ahead. Mako’s small burn mark is completely obliterated by Korra’s lightning, the rock is left cracked and glowing red-hot with a hole through the center. 

Korra turns back to face Mako with wide eyes. Mako’s facial expression matches her own. 

“...Well, maybe we should start training away from buildings and people.” He points out, staring at the large rock that Korra easily burnt a hole through. After a short pause he asks, “are you sure you didn’t use the avatar state?” 

“I didn’t.”

“Then that was certainly impressive. I’ve only ever been able to lightning bend like that when my life was in danger.” 

Korra walks over to the rock and bends a rush of air at the melted rock, cooling it down so it doesn’t set flame to the surrounding grass. Mako goes inside the temple, where Bolin and Asami are playing pai sho somewhere. 

Korra heads up to her bedroom, sweaty and in need of a shower after training with Mako all morning. She sits down on the edge of her bed, thinking of the display of power she just performed. Maybe using emotion in combat isn’t as bad as Kuvira insists. 

Kuvira. 

Everything that happened that one night seemed so unreal. Korra had no idea Kuvira felt the same way. The metalbender is extremely hard to read, though, so Korra’s not surprised she didn’t know. She wonders what will happen the next time they see each other. Maybe kiss again?...or more. 

Korra imagines how she’d feel if the older woman started kissing down her neck that night. She pictures Kuvira undoing her own belt buckle, and Korra’s arousal in real life grows. The Avatar’s hand moves from the bedsheets to her thigh, then the top of her pants. She slips her hand under the elastic band of her boyshorts, about to move it further down, when there’s a loud knock at the door that startles her. 

“Korra! Dinner’s ready!” The voice of Jinora says through the door.  
Korra yanks her hand back up. “O-okay! I’ll be down after I quickly take a shower.” she answers. 

\------------

Kuvira sits on the edge of her bed in her new apartment. There’s not one thing out of place, all her clothes are folded or hung up in the closet on hangers, every object in the room is tidy. Kuvira herself, however, doesn’t quite match the room. 

She’s got her hair in a long braid, with a few pieces of hair falling down around her face. She looks tired, dark circles lurk under her eyes. She’s wearing a white fitted tank top and green sweatpants. Kuvira definitely doesn’t look like her usual self. 

She sits very still on the edge of her bed, statue-like. In her hands she holds a picture of her adopted mom and dad. The photograph isn’t shiny anymore, Kuvira took it with her when she was traveling around the desert towns of the Earth Kingdom. She’s about seven or eight years old in this photo, one of her front teeth missing. Suyin and Baatar Sr. stand behind her, smiling gracefully. Kuvira is holding both of their hands. 

A single tear rolls down her cheek. The distant memory of belonging pains her greatly. She’s built some type of life here in Republic City, but it doesn’t feel whole. Something’s missing, and Kuvira is sure it has to do with her adopted family. 

There is a knock at the door and the former great uniter snaps her head up, a confused yet angry expression on her face. She swiftly places the photograph in a drawer, and wipes any evidence of sadness off her face. 

She unlocks the door and cracks it open. Chief Beifong stands on her doorstep in her typical police uniform. 

“Hello Kuvira,” she starts before Kuvira can even say anything, “There’s something I need to talk to you about. Can I come in?” Lin asks. Kuvira stands beside the door as she opens it just wide enough for the police chief to walk through. 

Lin sits down at a black square shaped table, with Kuvira following suit and sitting across from her. 

“What’s this about?” Kuvira asks firmly. 

“I need you to talk to your mother. She won’t stop bugging me about it, Kuvira, she’s very worried about you. I told her you’re safe, and you’re living in Republic City. That wasn’t enough for her, though, I think what my sister wants is to talk to you again.” 

Kuvira squeezes her eyes shut and pinches the bridge of her nose. She wants to take a preemptive painkiller for the headache she knows her mom will give her. 

“I...really don’t want to talk to her.” She finally responds.

“I know you don’t, trust me, I went without talking to her for years. No matter what happened between you and your mom, it’s over now, and you are both different people.” Chief Beifong assures her. 

“It’s hard to talk to someone who pretended to be your mom, then forced you into the military when they decided they were done with you.” Kuvira feels the familiar burn in her eyes, a precursor to tears. This subject always brought buried emotions to the surface. 

“Well, if you don’t want to talk to her for yourself, please talk to her for me. She calls me every single. day. All I ask is for you to at least say ‘hi’ to her and let her know you’re safe.” Lin attempts to compromise with the stubborn metalbender. 

“...Fine, but that’s all I’m going to say.” Kuvira says, obviously annoyed by this request. 

“Good. Thank you.” Lin looks at the clock on the wall adjacent to the table. “I better get back to the station. There were a few reports of shady characters lingering near the spirit portal today. I need to get back to the investigation, all my officers are probably going far off topic.” The police chief stands up, and Kuvira follows her to the apartment’s front door. 

Lin opens the door, starts to walk out. “Good luck talking to my sister", she adds as she waves and walks down the steps. Kuvira closes and locks the door behind her. 

She looks across the room, to her radio-phone sitting on the kitchen counter. Kuvira lets out a powerful exhale and decides to call her mom tomorrow morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just had to mention azula, at least once. she's just that powerful


	9. Republic City Police Work

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another long-ish chapter, Kuvira angst 

When Kuvira wakes up the next morning, she is instantly filled with dread. She really, really, doesn’t want to call her mom. 

The fog on her windows lets her know it’s a cold day out today. She walks over to her bedroom window and cracks it open, the air from outside smells slightly of burning wood. Kuvira trudges into her kitchen, part of her just wants to lay back in bed. She won’t let herself, she knows this has to be done. 

The metalbender just stares at her radio-phone for a moment. Memories of the last time she saw her mom start flooding into her head...

It was a stormy night in Zaofu. Kuvira had just been released from prison into Suyin’s custody a week prior. She still had bruises on her ankles and wrists from the platinum chains. 

Her adopted family was growing concerned for Kuvira. She wasn’t eating or talking much, she slept most days. They had no idea why she was acting this way, for someone who had just been released from prison you’d think she would be enjoying her newfound freedom. But she wasn’t. 

After another dinner without Kuvira present, Suyin showed up at her bedroom door to talk to her. 

“Can I come in?” she asked. 

Kuvira doesn’t respond, and she comes anyway. Su sits down next to her on the edge of the bed. 

“What’s going on with you? Are you okay?” Su asks in a very motherly tone. Kuvira knows what she is about to say will hurt Su’s feelings, even though it’s the truth. 

“....I... don’t take this the wrong way but...I still feel like I don’t have a family.” She admits. 

Suyin’s brows immediately furrow, her lips pressed together into a line. 

“What do you mean? You have a place to stay here…just like when you came here as a young girl..” she says. 

Kuvira feels her anger building up inside. Her mom assumes this issue is about material things. It’s obvious to everyone that Kuvira is the least favorite child, never being treated quite the same way as her siblings. She never got the same love and attention as the others. There’s even a family photo, framed, with everyone EXCEPT Kuvira in it. 

Kuvira remains silent, she closes her eyes and draws in a long breath through her nose. She doesn’t feel like doing this right now. 

Suyin becomes more frustrated at Kuvira’s silence. “How could you feel like you don’t have a family! You have no idea the amount of work I had to go through to get you out of prison! I didn’t have to do that for you!” Her voice becomes angrier. “I don’t understand what you want. At least we didn’t abandon you in that jail cell like your first family.” 

Kuvira’s infuriation rises to the surface and bubbles over at that last sentence. She stands up from the bed to face Suyin, tears building up in her eyes. 

“Well this family isn’t as great as you think it is! I was obviously the least favorite child! You NEVER loved me as much as your biological kids! You forced me to go into the military while you PERSONALLY trained everyone else at home!” Kuvira blinks and the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. She feels a lump in her throat and her heart is pounding out of rage. “I was all alone, AGAIN! When I said you turned your back on the Earth Kingdom, but what I REALLY meant was you turned your back on me! Do you even have any idea how much it hurt to be abandoned by my first family, then pushed away by my second?!” Her voice cracks at the last part of her sentence. At this point, Suyin is standing in front of Kuvira with her arms crossed. “You hurt me MORE than my biological mother, because at least she was honest with her intentions to get rid of me! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO LOVE ME BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T!” 

Kuvira bends over and yanks a backpack out from under her bed. She goes to her dresser and starts to pull out clothes and shove them inside the bag. 

“What are you doing?!” Suyin asks while putting her hands on her hips. 

“I’m leaving.” 

“What?! No you’re not!” Suyin reaches to take the backpack from Kuvira, but she pulls it away so Su can’t grab it. 

“Yes, I am! What kind of life do I have here?! You got me out of prison, and I’m so grateful for that, but I don’t have a life left here! I can’t stay here.” Kuvira wants to cry so badly, but holds it in. She grabs a few little things from her desk, and takes all the paper money she has. 

“Kuvira, we can fix this. Just calm down, we can talk about this.” Suyin tries to reason with her. 

Kuvira just shakes her head as she slings the backpack over her shoulder. She storms out of her bedroom, all the way to the front entrance of the Beifong palace. 

Suyin follows quickly behind her, with tears now brimming her eyes. 

Kuvira doesn’t miss a beat and pushes open the door, continuing to walk directly into the pouring rain. She makes it about ten feet from the door. 

“Wait!” Suyin calls out, the sadness heavy in her voice. Kuvira pauses, and turns her head just enough to see her mom standing there, barely illuminated in the rainy night. 

Part of her wants to go back, but she knows she can’t. She just turns away, finally letting the tears fall. She continues to walk out into the storm, and Suyin doesn’t follow…

Kuvira snaps back to reality, standing next to the radio-phone. The memory makes her want to sleep for a thousand years. She reaches for the radio phone, and tunes it to the correct channel. 

After some time, someone picks up the phone. It’s like Suyin was expecting her to call. 

“Hello?”

“Hey...it’s me..” Kuvira says weakly. She doesn’t quite know how to approach this. 

“Kuvira? Are you okay? Where have you been?” Su starts. 

“Mom, it’s okay. I live in Republic City now. I’m training the Avatar.” Kuvira spits out all the information quickly while staring at the floor. 

“Well, that sounds good. I’m happy you’re okay. I just wanted to let you know… we miss you…” Su trails off. 

“...I miss you guys too. But I’m not ready to see anyone yet.” Kuvira states, knowing the question Suyin would probably ask next. 

“Okay, well we’ll be ready when you are.” 

Kuvira looks at the clock. 

“I’ve got to go, President Raiko has asked me to attend a meeting this morning. Bye, mom.”

“Bye...hope to hear from you again soon.” Su and Kuvira hang up almost simultaneously. 

Kuvira puts down the radio-phone and goes to her closet. She chooses to wear a white button down shirt with a charcoal grey suit vest. She wears black pants and black dress shoes to go with it. 

\------------

Kuvira thinks of the radio phone call with her mom as she walks the city blocks to get to Raiko’s meeting. She has no idea what this meeting is even about, but maybe Korra will be there. 

Kuvira’s mind wanders to the memory of the night at Asami Sato’s mansion. She remembers purposely fixing the Avatar’s tie to make her flustered, the conversation they had over drinks. Then the kiss. Oh, the kiss. She very clearly remembers the Avatar’s lips pressed against hers, how Korra’s hips felt under her hands. Kuvira longs to feel all of it again, and more. 

She realizes she’s made it all the way to Raiko’s office, body running on autopilot due to her mind becoming preoccupied with daydreams. 

Kuvira takes a seat at the conference table. President Raiko is seated at the head of the table, shuffling and organizing papers for the meeting. The table is made up of some type of dark oak, with a clear glaze over the top. 

Lin walks in the room as Kuvira is absentmindedly studying the detail of the table’s woodgrain. 

“Did you...erm... do that thing?” The chief asks quietly, not mentioning Su because of the other person in the room. She’s a private person, and she knows Kuvira is as well. 

“Yes. Everything’s fine. We didn’t talk much.” the dark haired woman replies. 

“Okay.” Lin says as she glances over to see if Raiko is listening. He’s seemingly very wrapped up in the meeting notes before him when one of his assistants pops his head into the room. 

“Mr. President? I have your wife on hold.” he says quietly. 

Raiko stands up, still not taking his eyes off the paperwork, then leaves the conference room to go use the radio-phone. 

“Are you going to talk to your mother again?” Lin questions Kuvira as soon as Raiko is gone. 

“I suppose I’ll have to. We didn’t talk about anything that happened.” 

“She told me you two had a… falling out… of sorts.” Chief Beifong states, letting Kuvira know she doesn’t have to explain what happened. 

The former great uniter feels a pang of sadness deep inside, but the feeling is immediately washed away as a beautiful, tan-skinned woman with azure eyes enters the room. 

Korra. 

The Avatar is accompanied by Tenzin, she walks into the room with a big stride. She’s joking around with Tenzin, making herself laugh and making Tenzin crack a slight smile. Korra’s good mood is infectious, Kuvira is actually excited to be at this meeting now that Korra’s here.

Korra’s eyes lock with Kuvira’s gaze as she becomes aware of the older woman’s presence. Her expression changes from a big, toothy grin into a smaller, shy smile. She sits directly across from Kuvira, probably not the best idea.

The metalbender gives Korra a half-smile as Raiko hurries back into the room. 

“Okay, good morning everyone.” he says as he takes his seat at the head of the table, “let’s get started.”

He holds up a photograph of the spirit portal in Republic City, with three silhouettes in the foreground. 

“See these three people? There have been several sightings of them around the spirit portal, over several weeks.” he states matter of factly and puts the photograph back on the table. “Chief Beifong and I have been leading a small investigation into their activities. We don’t need the public to know about this, but… these people are taking energy from the spirit portal.” 

Korra looks somewhat angry, Tenzin has his usual stoic face on. Kuvira feels like she’s under a microscope because she has stolen energy from the spirit world in the past.

“And that is why I’ve asked you to attend this meeting today.” Raiko says directly to Kuvira, “We need your help. Lin and I can’t figure out how they are capturing and transporting the energy.” 

Kuvira’s left brain personality takes over. “Well, there’s several ways they could be doing it, I’d have to see what they are using it for.”

Lin perks up. “Raiko and I were thinking of creating a special team to take care of these guys as quietly as possible.” 

Korra and Kuvira look at each other, both thinking the same thing. 

“A team?” they ask simultaneously. 

“Yes,” President Raiko responds. “We need both of you to work on this, together. Korra, you’re the Avatar, so no one understands spiritual energy like you do. Kuvira, you have experience physically handling the energy, and...using it. Lin and I will supply you with everything you want for the task. We need you, Republic City needs you. I know that these people are up to no good, and I fear that they could be doing far worse things than I can imagine.” 

“What exactly do you want us to do?” Kuvira questions. 

“We need you two to find where these guys are hiding,figure out what they are doing with the stolen energy and how they are transporting it without being noticed.” 

Kuvira folds her arms across her chest and looks to the side. Is it really a good idea to put her and Korra on a mission together? 

Korra studies Kuvira’s reaction. Why doesn’t she want to work with her? For God’s sake, the woman kissed her last week and now she acts like she doesn’t want to work with her. 

“Well, if Lin thinks this is a good idea, then so do I.” Tenzin states to break the silence. 

Raiko nods at Tenzin’s response. “Kuvira? Korra? What do you say?” 

“I’ll do it, I can’t let people mess with the spirit portal.” Korra says as she stands up, puffing out her chest. She really fits into the role of the Avatar. 

“I’ll do it too, but I need a few things.” Kuvira says while glaring at Raiko. 

“What would that be?” He asks. 

“I need my metal armor back, you know, the one that was confiscated from me.” Kuvira doesn’t need to physically roll her eyes, it’s obvious that she’s doing it mentally. 

“Okay. I can do that. Anything else?” 

“Not that I can think of, unless Korra has any ideas.” 

Korra feels just a pinch of excitement at Kuvira using her first name. 

“Well if she’s getting armor, maybe I can have some too?” 

“Yes. That’s fine. Now are we all squared away? I have a press conference in an hour, and I need to go prepare for the media.” Raiko says, letting everyone know the meeting is over.

“Yes Sir!” Korra says while puffing out her chest again and saluting him. Raiko doesn’t find it very humorous, and ignores it. Kuvira almost lets out a laugh. 

The room empties out onto the street. Lin heads back to the police station, Tenzin walks to the garden adjacent to Raiko’s office and begins to blow the sky bison whistle, calling Oogi. This leaves Kuvira and Korra standing outside the office, together. 

“I guess we’re going to be doing something besides training, again.” The metalbender says smoothly, hinting at the last time they saw each other outside of training. 

Korra picks up on the hint and feels a blush creep up on her face. “Yea, I guess so.”   
Kuvira wants to reach out and touch her somehow, but there’s no excuse to. The few inches of space between them seems to be thick with tension. Korra opens her mouth like she is going to say something, but is interrupted.

“Korra! Time to head back!” Tenzin’s voice calls out to her. The Avatar turns around and sees that Oogi is here. 

“I, uh… have to go, I’ll see you soon?” Korra says to Kuvira as she gestures towards Tenzin, who is now on Oogi’s saddle. 

“See you soon, Avatar.” Kuvira replies while walking past Korra, in the direction of her apartment. The great uniter lets her hand brush against Korra’s ever so lightly, just teasing her with the smallest amount of contact. Kuvira can feel the Avatar’s pulse quicken through earthbending. She acts as if she did that to play with Korra, but really she couldn’t resist even that small of a connection. 

As Kuvira walks home, she wonders what Korra was going to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to write some chapters from Kuvira's point of view as well, so you guys can get an idea of how she feels and the type of life she's living in republic city.


	10. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prepare for sh*t to hit the fan in this chapter!

The gravel under Korra’s feet crunches as she lands on the buildings’ rooftop. It’s almost midnight, and she’s been jumping from rooftop to rooftop with the help of airbending. 

Korra’s destination is a tall building, it used to be an apartment complex. The building sits on the edge of the crater surrounding the spirit portal. Lin chose this to be Kuvira and Korra’s meeting place, because you can see into all the alleyways and small roads from this angle. The police chief really did her homework, because when Korra gets to the top of the building, she has to take a seat on the edge of the roof and admire the view. 

The bright yellow and green spirit beam radiates into the sky, unwavering and powerful. The neon colored light is strikingly different from it’s pitch black background. The portal illuminates everything around it, the light reaches as far as the dilapidated buildings dotted along the edge of its crater. 

Korra adjusts her armor, the traditional southern water tribe chest plate digging into her side. It is good that she has on a lot of layers, though, the night is becoming colder by the hour. She warms up her hands just enough so it doesn’t spark a flame, and presses them on her cheeks. 

“So you’re just going to sit there and not say hi to me?” a very recognizable voice says from behind. Korra whips her head around, startled, but feels a wave of excitement wash over her once she sees Kuvira’s face come out from the shadows. Kuvira is wearing her old metal armor, with the shoulder plates and high collar. The older woman has metal cuffs on her biceps, and she has that metal plated belt pulled taut to her waist. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you when I got here. So, hey.” Korra says, keeping eye contact with Kuvira for a few moments longer than usual, then returns her gaze to the spirit portal. Kuvira walks up to the edge, swings her legs over in one swift motion. There is only an inch of space in between their bodies, and the tension is growing stronger by the day. 

“Remember when we made that?” Korra says, staring out at the portal. 

“I would never forget it. You saved my life, Avatar.” The metalbender answers. 

Korra’s mind is flooded with images of a weak Kuvira, almost a different person, in her arms. 

“You know I can’t believe I told you about my parents that night. I’ve never really opened up to anyone like that, much less someone who was my enemy at the time.” Kuvira confesses, turning her head to look at Korra’s side profile: a perfect nose, and structured jawline. 

“It surprised me too. I never wanted us to be enemies, you know.” Korra says, her hand moving to the back of her neck. 

“Maybe we should’ve kissed in the spirit world, instead of waiting all this time.” Kuvira says boldly. Every statement she makes is a bold one. 

Korra is suddenly very aware of the space in between them. That comment from Kuvira makes Korra want to seal their lips together, this time without any alcohol influencing the decision. 

“Korra, look.” Kuvira says suddenly as she points downwards, near the back alley of what used to be a restaurant. 

The Avatar turns her head and squints her eyes, scanning the environment for whatever Kuvira saw. She spies three men, dressed head to toe in black, slipping around the corner. Korra feels slight anger, because she knows they are stealing spiritual energy and taking advantage of her and Kuvira’s creation. 

“Let’s follow them.” Korra directs the mission, now standing on the ledge of the building’s roof. Kuvira gets up and stands alongside her, without fear of falling even though she can’t airbend. Kuvira knows if she even made that mistake, which she rarely makes mistakes, the Avatar would catch her before anything bad happened. 

Korra reaches out into the open air, looking for Kuvira’s hand. Kuvira meets Korra’s hand with her own. This makes them both feel a jitter of excitement, but it must be pushed aside for the sake of the mission. 

“You ready?” Korra challenges Kuvira, while motioning to the great distance between where they stand and the ground. 

“Always, Avatar.” 

Korra’s grip tightens on Kuvira’s hand as she jumps into the air in front of them, pulling Kuvira with her. Gravity immediately takes effect and they begin to freefall. Kuvira feels fear seeping through her at the feeling of falling, but she keeps on a brave face. Korra airbends a large cushion of air above the ground, which slows their rapid freefall into a controlled descent. They both land on the pavement feet first, making the whole thing look effortless. 

“How was that for you?” Korra asks Kuvira with a crooked grin playing across her lips. 

“Very precise, I like it.” 

Of course, Kuvira likes precise things. 

Korra releases the great uniter’s hand, wishing they were under different circumstances so she wouldn’t have to. 

\-------------

Following the three suspects led the pair to a building which is currently under construction. The three men were about 20 or so feet ahead of Korra and Kuvira, so they had to keep every move silent. 

The suspects walked into the construction site, lifting up the caution tape and ducking under it. Korra and Kuvira pause for a second to let the men lead the way, then they turn to face each other. 

“Let’s go see what they’re up to and get out of here.” Korra whispers as she crouches behind a palette full of bricks, getting closer to the construction site entrance. 

“Agreed. I don’t like being here much either, it reminds me of my past-self.” Kuvira adds as she follows Korra’s footsteps, now both of them are huddled behind the tower of bricks. 

Kuvira pokes her head around the corner of their hiding spot, then stealthily walks to the caution tape that the men ducked under. She brings the plastic tape above her head and motions for Korra to walk through. 

“Ladies first.” Kuvira winks at the Avatar. 

Korra smiles at her and lets out a chuckle while shaking her head. 

“Of course you’re flirting with me now, of all times.” 

“Better now than never, right?” Kuvira teases her. Korra’s about to agree, but they hear the sound of a heavy door closing. 

“The sound came from over there.” Korra says while pointing at a hallway on the building’s ground floor. The hallway is wide open, the doors haven’t been installed yet. The pair steps inside the hallway and looks around. Pipes line the ceiling, and most of them are dripping water. There’s puddles lining the concrete floor, and one of the suspects got their shoe wet, leaving a convenient trail of footprints. 

Korra lets out a small sigh, not understanding how criminals could be so dumb sometimes. As the two women continue down the hallway, it grows increasingly dark. The Avatar lights a small flame in the palm of her hand to help guide them. They turn a corner, still following footsteps. The corridor they walk into is now completely dark and silent. All that can be heard is the sound of water drops falling from the leaky pipes overhead. 

In the distance, Kuvira spots two rectangles of light. She taps Korra’s shoulder, and points towards the light, not daring to speak in such a quiet place.   
Korra squints at first, then her eyes relax out of recognition. She nods at Kuvira, signaling that they are on the same page. 

They sneak towards the light, Korra allowing her flame to become smaller as they approach it. The two rectangles of light turn out to be windows in the center of two solid steel double doors. Faint voices can be heard on the other side of the doors. 

Korra extinguishes her guide light completely, light now being provided from the two small windows. The pair slowly look into the window, green and blue eyes peering inside. 

The room behind the door is spacious, lit by an eerie yellow glow. There are boxes everywhere- but they can’t tell what’s inside them. A giant metal object takes up the center of the room, it’s somewhat of a cube-like shape. Neon yellow light pokes out of it’s mechanical seams. There’s about twenty or so men, all dressed in black, scattered around the room. They seem to all be tinkering with tools, every few moments someone will walk up to the metal cube and do something to it with a tool. 

Korra feels angry again, yet still keeps her voice low. “That’s spirit energy, inside the metal thing. I can feel it.” 

“I can probably figure out how they are transporting the energy around, but I can’t see anything from this angle. Let’s look around for other entrances to the room.” Kuvira murmurs. 

The two start scanning the surrounding walls. Kuvira can’t find anything except several nuts and bolts on the floor and cobwebs in the corner. 

“Psst!” 

Kuvira looks up and Korra is standing about 6 feet in front of her, pointing to an air vent. The raven-haired woman walks over to discuss this option. 

“You really want to go in there?” the metalbender questions. 

“Well, I don’t think we have any other options. Besides, you’ll probably get a better angle from up there.” 

Kuvira gives in and nods her head. She does a swift motion with one arm and the metal cover on the air vent is ripped off, and quietly placed on the ground. Korra does a jump with a little airbending help, and makes it gracefully inside the duct. She reaches down to Kuvira with an open arm, the other arm bracing the side of the vent. “Here.” 

Kuvira interlocks her arm with Korra’s, and jumps as Korra pulls her upwards. The combined effort is a success, and the pair is now inside the air vent.   
The younger woman leads the way again, igniting her handheld flame once again. They have to remain crouched to even fit through these vents. The faint voices that they heard beyond the metal door are growing increasingly louder and clearer. 

“Go get me another canister.” a male voice says below them. 

“Okay. We are going to have to go back and get more soon, though.” a second male voice responds. 

Korra and Kuvira come to a vent on the side of the air duct that’s positioned directly over the center of the room. They huddle together so they can both see out of the small grate, shoulders and arms touching. Both women ignore the spark they just felt. 

The cube-shaped metal contraption is now directly beneath them. It radiates energy, Korra can feel its power pulsating, threatening to jump out at any moment. 

“Did you fix the timer yet?” a voice calls from another corner of the room. 

“I’m working on it now.” says a man sitting at a workbench, tinkering with said timer. 

“Good. Hah, just wait until we’re done with this. Raiko won’t be able to refuse anything we ask if he wants to keep Republic City intact.” 

“How much power did you say this was gonna have again?” 

“Boss says it would be equal to about twenty-five kilotons of TNT.” 

The hairs on the back of Korra’s neck stand up at the last word. She looks at Kuvira with a worried expression. 

“It’s a bomb.” Korra mouths to the older woman who reads her lips. 

All of a sudden, a blast of spirit energy jumps from the mechanical cube and hits a pile of scrap metal, sending pieces flying. 

“HEY! Someone get that thing cooled down!” a man orders, backing away from the cube. 

Two men duck out of the large room for a second, then come back with hoses gushing gallons of water all over the spirit bomb. Now Korra and Kuvira understand the reason for all those leaky pipes. 

The cube’s energy weakens, but not before it lets out another bolt of energy. The projectile hits the air vent that Korra and Kuvira are hiding in, the two women share a very panicked look before the entire vent collapses to the floor.

Korra feels like the wind has been knocked out of her lungs, struggling to stand up. Kuvira metal bends air duct pieces off of herself, and stands next to Korra, defaulting into a fighting stance. The sound of the crash prompts even more men to run into the room, Korra and Kuvira now facing more than fifteen opponents each. 

The men are partially masked, bandanas covering their mouths. Their eyes read of surprise, anger, and confusion. All of a sudden, it seems as if every enemy has produced a weapon. 

“HEY! THAT’S THE AVATAR!” a voice from the back of the crowd calls out.

All eyes turn to Korra, who is now in a fighting stance herself. 

“I am the Avatar!,” Korra yells at the crowd, “and I won’t let you keep stealing spirit energy!” 

Kuvira snaps off a few metal sheets from her bicep cuffs, and sharpens them to a point. She knows this situation is going to go south any second. 

“Well,” a man at the front of the crowd says, “WE AREN’T GOING TO LET YOU LEAVE HERE ALIVE!” 

He and several others rush at Korra, various knives and handheld weapons ready. Korra sends a rush of air at them, knocking them all to their feet. 

“EVERYONE, GET THEM!!” someone shouts out, sending the entire crowd charging at Korra and Kuvira. 

Kuvira effortlessly sends metal blades flying at them, taking out six people in a split second. The master metalbender now sends metal bands at their feet and eyes, blinding and tripping another wave of enemies. 

Korra sends bright orange blasts of flames at anyone who comes within a ten foot radius of her and Kuvira. She burns several men bad enough that they drop to the floor. 

The two heavyweight benders are holding back the attackers fairly successfully, but more and more keep appearing. All of a sudden, a huge wave of men rushes at Korra together, and she’s overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. A blade slices somewhere across Korra’s thigh, then another one across her arm. Korra manages to hit a few of them with fireballs, but they are relentless. In the blink of an eye, a fist connects with her face like thunder. 

The Avatar is knocked back onto the floor with a loud thud, she doesn’t catch herself. Her head is throbbing and she feels blood spilling from her nose. Her attackers violently kick her in the ribs on both sides. 

Kuvira knocks down a few more men then looks over at Korra, the bloody sight making her serious expression change into a terrified one. 

“KORRA!” She yells out, the fear in Kuvira’s voice ringing through Korra’s ears. A few of Korra’s attackers pick her up by her arms, dragging her to a wall and restraining her against it. The weakened Avatar thrashes against them, attempting to break loose. 

One of the men holding back Korra’s right arm turns to the people attacking Kuvira. 

“WE HAVE THE AVATAR!” his voice pierces the air. “KILL THE OTHER ONE!” 

Korra feels an incredible sinking feeling at his order to the other men. The Avatar watches as Kuvira is attacked with extreme force, people rushing at her from all angles. 

The metalbender is now using lethal force against her opponents, letting metal blades slice throats and faces. Kuvira’s composure has been abandoned, she lets her anger show through. She punches the floor, hard, and sharp rock spikes skyrocket out of the floor, killing several men. The number of opponents is never-ending though, and one guy finally manages to sweep Kuvira’s legs with a low kick. 

Kuvira falls to the ground, her attackers now towering over her. She quickly attempts to get up, but is met with a boot to her face. The great uniter’s ears are ringing now, blood dripping from her mouth onto the concrete floor. She’s hunched over on the floor, still trying to stand up. 

“KUVIRA!” Korra screams out, feeling helpless against the mob. The men tighten their grip on her, keeping her held up against the wall. Everything is happening so fast, yet she feels like she’s watching it in slow motion. 

One of the men standing around Kuvira kicks her in the face, hard enough you could feel it just by looking. This sends Kuvira onto her back, limp and unresponsive. The enemies surrounding her begin to kick her while she’s down.

“NO!” The Avatar cries out. Something inside Korra snaps, and an extreme surge of rage fills her body. Her blue eyes begin to flicker, then turn to glowing white. She effortlessly overpowers the people holding her, and traps them against the wall with restraints made of rock. Korra can’t control the seething anger in her veins. She breathes a huge red flame at the men attacking Kuvira. 

Many men hit the floor, crying out in pain after coming in contact with Korra’s flame. The Avatar’s blazing white eyes lock onto a particular figure, the one who just kicked Kuvira in the face, twice. The remaining men abandon their weapons and run towards the door out of sheer panic. 

Korra stares him down as he shakes under her burning gaze. Her wrath cannot be contained. The Avatar takes in a powerful inhale through her nose, and exhales a small flame from her lips. 

Korra focuses her intent, her rage, her chi. She extends her hand in the opposite direction of the man, only the index and middle fingers pointed skywards. Her other arm begins the fluid movements, and then both arms are going through the motions. Sparks begin to crackle in the air surrounding her, the man’s eyes widening at the sight. Then, Korra thrusts her forward hand into the air between herself and the man, index and middle fingers pointed directly at his chest. In an instant, a powerful white-hot bolt of lightning shoots from the Avatar’s fingertips and connects with the man’s body. He absorbs all the lightning as the life leaves his body and he falls to the floor, limp. 

There are no attackers left, and Korra’s eyes flicker, then relax back to her usual aqua color.   
She goes to Kuvira, holding the metalbender in her arms on the floor. Korra presses her ear on Kuvira’s chest and feels a wave of relief at the sound of a heartbeat. When she lifts her head, Kuvira is looking at her, eyes barely open. 

“Hey, Avatar.” The great uniter says weakly. 

Korra’s eyes well up with tears. “I thought you died.” she says, voice cracking. 

“You saved my life again, Korra.” 

Korra lets the sobs come out as she holds Kuvira close, the emotions of the night needed an outlet. The sound of sirens approach, and soon, thundering footsteps. Korra can’t even hear anything they are saying to her, she doesn’t care. The officers have to pry Kuvira out of Korra’s arms to get them both medical attention. The last thing Korra remembers is Kuvira being placed onto a stretcher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i tried to make a parallel to the episode where korra holds kuvira in the spirit world. Vira and korra are definitely going to be getting closer after THAT lol


	11. The Note

Korra yanks off a light blue gown in her hospital room. 

“Stupid thing” she says as she tosses it into the trash can next to her bed. She excitedly tears open the bag with her own clothes in it, carefully putting on a white t-shirt and navy blue sweatpants. 

She winces as she puts her leg into the sweatpants, the knife wound on her thigh had been stitched closed for several days now but it was still very sore. The bruise from it was all shades of blue and purple, and the swelling had gone down quite a bit. 

After she’s fully clothed, Korra starts checking her room to make sure she won’t leave anything behind. She’s looking under the bed when she hears a knock at the door. 

“Come in.” 

Asami Sato stands in the doorway. “Hey, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m feeling better knowing I can finally get out of this place. I don’t like doctors.” Korra replies. 

Korra has seen too many doctors for Asami to count on her fingers. The Future Industries CEO had been visiting her best friend almost every day for the past week, watching doctors and nurses tend to the Avatar. 

Asami walks to the window in Korra’s room, taking in the view of central Republic City. Her eyes land on something down below. 

“I can’t wait to drive away from here in the car, you parked it out front right?” Korra asks while putting on her shoes, not noticing Asami staring at something outside. 

“Yes it’s out front, but there’s something I think you should do before we leave.” Asami motions for Korra to come look.

She walks up to the window and sees Kuvira a few stories below them, sitting on a bench by herself in the hospital’s courtyard.

“Oh.” 

“Go talk to her, Korra. You two haven’t even seen each other since the incident.” 

She nods in agreement with Asami. “I’ll meet you in the car.” 

They part ways and Korra takes the elevator down to the ground floor. She thinks of how they are so lucky that someone reported all the people running out of the building under construction. Lin immediately knew it was them and called all units to the site. They found out, several days later, that the group was the remains of the equalists. No one knows what they were planning to do with the spirit bomb, but most of the surviving members were in jail now. 

Korra walks into the courtyard, Kuvira’s face lighting up slightly as they see each other. 

“Hey, Avatar.” 

Korra cracks a smile at Kuvira’s usual greeting. She takes a seat right next to her. 

“Hi. How’s your day going?” Korra sincerely wants to know. 

“Aside from bruised ribs and several stitches, I’m doing just fine. I...wanted to thank you, Korra. You saved my life, again, and I can never repay the debt I have to you. Whatever you need, I’ll be there.” Kuvira admits to the Avatar, while keeping eye contact with her. 

Korra places a hand on Kuvira’s thigh, the perfect level of touch for this conversation. 

“I’ll always be there for you, too. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” She says softly, almost a whisper. 

Kuvira takes Korra’s hand in her own, both of their pulses quickening at the act. Kuvira’s hands are rough and callused, from years of training and fighting. Korra lightly squeezes her hand, letting the metalbender know she appreciates the contact. Kuvira lets a little grin play on her face. 

The raven-haired woman stands up, still not letting go of Korra’s hand. “Listen, I have to go talk to someone. We’ll see each other again soon.” Kuvira reaches into her back pocket and places a little piece of folded up paper in Korra’s hand. 

Before Korra can even look at the piece of paper, she finds Kuvira’s lips on hers, her hands gently pulling on either side of Korra’s face. The Avatar is stunned, but without missing a beat she kisses Kuvira back, squeezing her hand harder. She’s been waiting to do this again so badly, ever since that night at the party. They keep the kiss short and much less intense as than it begs to be, both women resisting the urge to take this further. 

Kuvira pulls away reluctantly, her gaze meeting Korra’s. Her eyes read of passion and intensity, making Korra wonder what would happen right now if they weren’t in public. Instead, Kuvira just gives Korra a half-smile and starts walking away after a brief pause. 

Korra lets out a huge sigh, wishing those moments would last forever. She finally remembers the piece of paper in her hand and hurriedly unfolds it. In Kuvira’s neat handwriting, it reads:

Come over tomorrow night. -K

Korra shoves the paper in her sweatpants pocket and feels ecstatic. She stands up and starts to make her way towards the front entrance of the hospital, where Asami should be waiting with her Sato-mobile. 

\---------------

As she twists the door lock closed, Kuvira feels a wave of relief wash over her. After spending a week in the hospital, it sure felt good to be back home. The familiar scent of her apartment welcomes her, she walks to her bed and allows herself to fall onto the mattress. The soft comforter begs her to close her eyes and sleep, she’s about to give in when she remembers what she needs to do. 

Kuvira slowly rises up from the bed, quietly padding over to the phone. She actually wants to call her mom, recent events have made her realize she doesn’t want to live a life excluding the woman who raised her. Their history is traumatic and complicated, but when Kuvira was beat within an inch of her life, she wished she had more time to fix things between them. 

The phone rings quietly in Kuvira’s ear as she holds it up to the side of her face. 

“Hello? Kuvira?” Suyin’s voice asks curiously, not sure if it actually is Kuvira calling. 

“Hey, mom.” 

There is a brief pause on the other end, Suyin recognizing her oldest daughter’s voice. 

“How have you been?”

Kuvira’s mind goes through all the ways she could possibly answer this question. She probably shouldn’t tell her mom about the spirit bomb incident yet. 

“I’ve been fine, you know, training the Avatar and all…” 

“Good, good. Your father and I just finished Zaofu’s new domes today, you wouldn’t believe how much bigger we made them.” Suyin steers the conversation towards the topic of the metal city, hoping to ask Kuvira to visit. 

“I’m sure. Listen, mom… I was thinking... Maybe if you wanted to meet up somewhere, I think I’m ready to see you again.” 

“Of course!,” Su replies without missing a beat, “where would you want to meet?”

Kuvira thinks for a second. She doesn’t want to go to Zaofu yet, and she doesn’t want to bring her mom to her place yet. 

“How about a coffee shop in Republic City? I could try to bring Chief Beifong along with me, too.” She hopes that seeing her daughter and sister at the same time is enough persuasion to get Su to travel to Republic City. 

“Okay, I can do that.” she says after a brief pause. 

The rest of the time on the phone, Kuvira talks all about training the avatar in metal bending. Su gives her pointers and Kuvira accepts them, reluctant to criticism even if it happens to be constructive. 

After Kuvira hangs up, she goes over to her bed again, and falls on it with a loud thud. Her hand is raised slightly, not laying flat on the mattress. The familiar gray space rock floats out of one of Kuvira’s drawers, guided by her bending. It stops a few inches above her hand. It hangs suspended in the air, forming into a sphere...then a cube...then a spear….then a star…


End file.
